Bobby Pulido wins Texas 15th
The musician defeated the incumbent Republican in the 15th District after a campaign focused on quinceañeras.
By Elijah Fitzgerald ·
Democrat Bobby Pulido defeated GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz on Tuesday in a competitive race for Texas’s 15th Congressional District. The result ends De La Cruz’s bid for a third term in the House. Her brother, Carlos De La Cruz, also lost his primary challenge in the 35th District, which includes parts of San Antonio.
The 15th District was redrawn earlier this year by Texas Republicans to reduce Democratic seats. The new map anchors the district in Hidalgo County and stretches north from the Rio Grande Valley. President Trump won the old version of this district by 18 percentage points in 2024. However, shifting support among Hispanic voters gave Democrats a chance to flip the seat.
Pulido, a Spanish-language recording artist, initially appeared to be a long shot. His candidacy gained momentum after The New York Post exposed his ties to a registered sex offender who was also a former bandmate. Other major outlets, including The New Yorker and The New York Times, covered the story. Video surfaced of Pulido boasting about helping the offender escape jail years earlier.
De La Cruz attempted to turn the connection against her opponent. She argued that the election was not about who would perform at a niece’s quinceañera. Pulido responded by organizing nearly 80 of these Latino coming-of-age ceremonies. He told Mother Jones that the strategy allowed him to reach working-class voters who are busy during the week.
“We would never have done a quinceañera,” Pulido said. “After one day we had a thousand invites. And we’ve done almost 80 of them.” He described the event as a gift that De La Cruz gave them by forcing the issue.
De La Cruz campaigned on her humble roots in Brownsville. She recalled her grandfather picking watermelons in the Texas heat. She criticized the Biden administration for raising grocery prices by 20% and for allowing fentanyl to enter schools. She warned that Democrats would return to open borders and higher taxes.
Despite her message, the redistricting required De La Cruz to introduce herself to a largely new group of voters. This placed her at an unexpected disadvantage against an opponent who had already built a local presence through music and community events. The new district configuration forced both candidates to compete in a different political environment than the one they inhabited in 2024.
